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Awesome Games Done Quick<\/a>, the annual charity speedrunning marathon is in full swing<\/a>, already amassing over $500,000 for the Prevent Cancer Foundation. With three more days to go, there\u2019s a great many runs of popular games coming up. But relying on the schedule or your own preferences to determine when to tune in is a surefire way to miss the best AGDQ has to offer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Take today, for example. I\u2019ve never played Batman Forever: The Arcade Game<\/em>, but after watching the speedrun, I might have to. It\u2019s a Batman-flavored beat-\u2019em-up that bears precious little resemblance to the movie it\u2019s based on. The runner, LRock617<\/a>, chose to play as Robin and within moments of starting the game, I was hooked. The graphics were reminiscent of the early Mortal Kombat<\/em> games, appropriate since it was published by Acclaim Entertainment. But there was a surreality to them that \u2014 when combined with Robin\u2019s overpowered abilities (like one that has him essentially go Super Saiyan), the runner\u2019s charisma in explaining what\u2019s happening, and the audience getting in on the fun with funny donation messages \u2014 gave the run an absurd goofiness that was a sorely needed shot in the arm at 9AM on a Wednesday morning. And if I hadn\u2019t had the marathon on in the background, I would have missed it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Games Done Quick\u2019s schedule is set up to have the most popular games or gimmicky runs take place during the early evenings and weekends \u2014 the time when folks are most likely to tune in. But I\u2019ve found some of my favorite runs are of games I\u2019ve never heard of played well outside those primetime hours. I\u2019ve developed a deep an abiding love of Mr. Bones<\/em>, a Sega Saturn game I have never played, because I found it during a bout of January 6th-induced insomnia<\/a>. The Ratatouille<\/em> run from Summer Games Done Quick 2023<\/a>, one of that year\u2019s stand<\/a>–out<\/a> runs, happened on a Tuesday at 11AM. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n More than simply being entertained, keeping GDQ on all the time is a good way to find your next indie game. I didn\u2019t know what <\/em>Pizza Possum<\/em><\/a> was, but after watching the speedrun<\/a>, it\u2019s on my list of co-op games to try at home. There\u2019s still plenty of AGDQ left to enjoy. There\u2019s a New Super Mario Bros. Wii<\/em> run that\u2019ll be played while the runner plays the piano and I cannot wait for the Crazy Taxi<\/em> run that\u2019ll be accompanied by a live band playing covers of the songs in the game. But I\u2019m even more excited to find the next hidden gem of the marathon purely by chance.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n